Name: BMW M3 (2021 - present) | Expert Rating | The Car Expert
Item: BMW M3
Rating: 64

Summary

The BMW M3 Competition is a high-performance saloon (and now estate) based on the regular 3 Series range. It is the latest in a long line of performance 3 Serires models that dates back to the mid-1980s.

Now in its sixth generation, the BMW M3 had been only produced as a four-door saloon since 2014, coupé and convertible variants being rebranded as the BMW M4. However, an estate version (the BMW M3 Touring) joined the range for the first time in 2022.

In the UK, we only get the M3 Competition model, which is powered by a 3.0-litre, twin-turbo, six-cylinder petrol engine that produces 510hp and drives through an eight-speed automatic transmission. While previous generations were always only offered in BMW’s traditional rear-wheel-drive format, the latest M3 is also available in an all-wheel drive configuration (called ‘xDrive’ in BMW jargon).

The M3 has had a very positive reception from the UK motoring media since its arrival at the start of 2021, with all of the reviews we track commending the saloon for its impressive performance despite this latest generation being heavier and bulkier than its predecessors.

What Car?, among others, praises the M3 for its ride comfort and premium interior trim, as well as its “staggering pace and grip”. Auto Trader concludes that the saloon’s blend of performance and practicality makes it the most appealing M3 iteration to date, while Carwow sums up its review by calling the M3 “nothing short of sensational to drive”.

Beyond the polarising grille designs that BMW is rolling out across its entire ‘M’ range, there have been very few criticisms of the M3 beyond the expected quibbles over price and that ride comfort is compromised in pursuit of handling – which any prospective customer is likely to expect anyway.

Nevertheless, most reviewers would recommend the BMW M3 over any other performance saloon its class, including the Mercedes-AMG C63 and Audi RS 4. Only the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is generally considered to be on a par with the M3 saloon.

As of February 2024, the BMW M3 holds a New Car Expert Rating of B, with a score of 64%. Notwithstanding its excellent media reviews and decent safety score, the M3 is hampered by its poor scores for reliability and running costs.

M3 highlights

Thrilling performance
Comfortable and practical cabin
Agile handling and body control

M3 lowlights

Very expensive compared to the regular 3 Series
Polarising front-end styling
Alternatives have more interior comfort

Key specifications

Body style: Four-door saloon and estate
Engines: petrol
Price: From £75,660 on-road

Launched: Spring 2021
Last updated: Summer 2021
Replacement due: TBA

Image gallery

Media reviews

Reviews, road tests and comparisons from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.

Auto Express+

Model reviewed: CS (2023)
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW M3 CS treatment squeezes even more performance out of the mighty BMW M3, but its six-figure price is a bit difficult to stomach.” (Steve Fowler)
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Model reviewed: M3 Touring
Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW M3 Touring drives every bit as well as the saloon, which makes it one hell of a high-performance family car.”
Author: Jordan Katsianis
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Score: 9 / 10
“More rounded, more versatile but still able to deliver the thunderous performance M cars are famous for, the new BMW M3 hits the mark.”
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Auto Trader+

Score: 9 / 10
“The BMW M3’s combination of sports car chasing performance and saloon car practicality is as appealing as ever.”
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Autocar+

Model reviewed: CS
Score: 9 / 10
“Good value or otherwise, the M3 CS is the latest evidence that CS is becoming M shorthand for showing the brand at its very best.”
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Model reviewed: M3 xDrive
Score: 8 / 10
“Without a direct back-to-back comparison during laid-back road driving, you would be hard pushed to tell the difference between the rear-drive M3 and the xDrive M3. I had a two-week gap between drives and couldn’t.”
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Model reviewed: M3 Competition
Score: 8 / 10
“The hot version of the superb latest 3 Series saloon is here at last, bigger, brawnier and brasher than before.”
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Car+

Model reviewed: M3 Touring
Score: 8 / 10
“The new 2023 BMW M3 Touring Competition confidently, effortlessly saunters in and settles down at the head of the estate car class. The Audi RS 4 Avant, as appealing as it is, does not have the steering or brakes to live with the M3 Touring.” (Keith Adams)
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Car Keys+

Model reviewed: Touring (2023)
Score: 10 / 10
“Living up to expectations is always a difficult thing, but BMW has managed just that with its M3 Touring. It’s every bit as good as we hoped, with its blend of practicality and performance and able to open up this BMW M model to a wider audience.”
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Score: 10 / 10
“BMW has managed to ensure the M3 remains just as exciting and focused as ever, yet while also taming it down in the process and making it a lot more manageable.”
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Carbuyer+

Model reviewed:
Score: 8.2 / 10
“The BMW M3 is still one of the very best sports saloons and now there’s a Touring estate version too.” (Andy Goodwin)
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Carwow+

Score: 9 / 10
“The new BMW M3 is nothing short of sensational to drive.”
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Evo+

Model reviewed:
Score: 9 / 10
“It’s bigger and heavier than before, and is now auto-only. So can it copy the new M4’s trick of still being fun to drive? You bet it can.”
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Motoring Research+

Model reviewed: M3 Touring
Score: 9 / 10
“Despite a few flaws, the BMW M3 Touring makes a strong case for being the ultimate family wagon. Its price precludes it from being a car I could regularly recommend, and besides, nobody really *needs* a car like this. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting one.”
Author: Tim Pitt
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Parkers+

Model reviewed:
Score: 8 / 10
“Devastatingly adept super saloon is flawed and brilliant”
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The Intercooler+

Model reviewed: M3 Competition saloon
“For all that’s changed over 35 years since the original E30, the BMW M3 still knows how to excite its driver when shown an inviting road. But given its sheer size and weight, plus the limitations of its powertrain, I don’t see this M3 being remembered in years to come as a paragon of the breed.” (Dan Prosser)
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The Sunday Times+

Score: 10 / 10
“A flat out winner — get the BMW M3 while you can.”
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Top Gear+

Model reviewed: Competition
Score: 9 / 10
“No other sports or super-saloon is as capable, grippy, tied down, responsive or communicative on a difficult road as a BMW M3 Competition.”
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What Car?+

Score: 10 / 10
“The BMW M3 is a brilliant performance saloon that’s far more capable (if not necessarily more fun) than its main rival, the V8-powered Mercedes C63 AMG.”
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Safety rating

Independent crash test and safety ratings from Euro NCAP

Overall score: 5 stars
Date tested: July 2019
Read the full Euro NCAP review

Adult protection: 97%
Child protection: 87%
Vulnerable road users: 87%
Safety assist: 76%

The BMW M3 Competition shares its safety rating with the mainstream BMW 3 Series saloon, which was tested by Euro NCAP back in 2019 and awarded a five-star rating.

The M3 comes with a number of safety features as standard, such as automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist.